Music

Today, Friday January 25th 2008, marks the 219th anniversary of the last day that Australia’s indigenous population had full and unchallenged sovereignty over their lands, and is therefore the day that I think should be celebrated as Sovereignty Day. Tomorrow, Australia Day, marks 220 years since Arthur Philip, by mere speech act, decreed that the entire continent belonged not to its inhabitants, but to the British Empire instead.

In commemoration and acknowledgement of this, I’d like to share a sentiment demonstrated two nights ago by Björk at her concert in Sydney, which I was lucky enough to attend.

During her encore, she dedicated a song to Australia’s Indigenous people, which I thought was a nice gesture, though one which was probably lost on the majority of the crowd. It’s not very musically adventurous, but when I heard the lyrics I was amused, especially in the context of the NT intervention. So here it is:

In case you’re wondering what that awesome instrument is, it’s called a reactable. It’s basically a synthesiser with a very cool visual method of input; manipulating perspex blocks to alter the properties of the modulation, all of which happens in a computer and is translated to the surface via a camera and a projector underneath.

It’s very cool and I want one. Pity; only two exist.

Banengh-nga?

Matjjin is a Wagiman nominal root meaning language, word or story and nehen is the privative case suffix, 'without'.